Artie Bell

Arthur James Bell, known as Artie Bell, was a Northern Irish motorcycle road racer, born on 6 September 1914 and died on 7 August 1972. He became known after the Second World War with second place in the 1947 Isle of Man TT on a second-hand 500cc Norton that he bought himself, leading three of the seven laps. He won the 1947 500cc Ulster Grand Prix and the North West 200, a race he took again in 1949 and 1950, and away from motorcycles he won the 1946 Circuit of Ireland Rally in a Riley. Norton took him on as a works rider after his 1947 performance, and he went on to win the 500cc Senior TT and, in 1950, the 350cc Junior TT. His career ended after a high-speed crash at the La Source hairpin during the 1950 Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps. The Irish Post Office put him on a stamp in 1996.